Behold the wisdom that spilled forth from the great man when the Notre Dame mastermind was asked to detail Job 1 for the Irish, with their national title matchup vs. defending champ Alabama looming:

“Try to get another opponent.”

Brilliant! Wait … what?

Surely, that would be impossible at this late date. Unacceptable.

Indeed, Alabama will be mighty tough to beat. Here are three things the Irish have to work on before they’ll be ready to roll with the Tide:

1. Coach up Everett Golson

Kelly knew when he arrived in South Bend three years ago that, when it came to his offensive line, all he had to do was keep the assembly line moving. Meanwhile, he could work hard—and fast—at raising the quality of his defensive front seven. He’d decided before even moving from Cincinnati to follow the SEC example.

Asked if there are similarities now between the Irish and Tide, Kelly says: “There certainly are in terms of the line of scrimmage.”

With the likes of D-linemen Stephon Tuitt and Louis Nix III and, of course, linebacker Manti Te’o on his side, he can say that with a straight face, too.

But the Irish aren’t yet at that desired SEC level at other positions.

Example: Notre Dame’s leader in receptions (44) and receiving yards (624) is tight end Tyler Eifert, who also shares the lead in touchdown catches with wideout T.J. Jones; they have just four apiece. Where are the outside threats? Well, they’re works in progress.

Which brings us to quarterback Golson, because he’s the guy this is really about. Consider: The Irish rank 75th in the country in passing offense (218.8 yards per game), to the Tide’s 84th (214.5)—but AJ McCarron is No. 1 in pass efficiency (172.1), to Golson’s 63rd (131.8).

Golson has a live arm and great legs and has shown flashes of big potential, but right now he’s nowhere close to McCarron’s level.

That’s what makes these next few weeks absolutely vital.

“In being the best team on Monday, January 7th,” Kelly said, “our quarterback has to continue to grow and develop.

“This will be a great learning opportunity for him. Hell be able to do so many things that we’re not able to do during the week: focus on some fundamentals, really get in the weight room and get after it—and, I think, really feel like he’s prepared for Alabama. And that’s going to be a good thing.”

2. Don’t take Manti Te’o for granted

Even before Te’o hit the road to travel to various award presentations, he was losing steam. All the intense focus on him, the scrutiny of his play by Heisman voters, the job of team spokesman, not to mention the emotions that continue to pour out of him since the in-season deaths of his girlfriend and his grandmother—well, a lot for anyone to deal with.

“He’s burned out, there’s no question. He’s on fumes right now,” Kelly said heading into the Heisman trip to New York.

Te’o didn’t feel right about sitting on planes and sleeping in comfy hotels when he could’ve been reviving body and mind with quiet work in the weight and film rooms.

Knowing Te’o was concerned with his conditioning, Kelly advised him: “Listen, this week, you’ve just got to write it off.”

But Te’o was legitimately concerned. In a conference call with national media, he’d said of the aforementioned award trips: “I asked Coach Kelly to make sure there’s a gym in whatever place we stay so that, when I come back, I’m not a D-lineman.”

The truth: Te’o has to be at his absolute best for the Irish to have a chance to win. Did you see how Bama finished off Georgia with power running in the SEC title game? Eddie Lacy and T.J. Yeldon are scary backs running behind as scary an offensive line as there is in the game.

Standing up to that running game simply will be the biggest on-field challenge Te’o has ever faced. Somehow, despite all the demands on his time, he has to get himself back to where he was in November—and then improve on that.

3. Build to the very finish

Kelly continues to emphasize not just the game itself but the date of the game—Jan. 7—because he wants his players to understand the opportunity they have to improve up until then and then give their peak performance in Miami.

What the Irish really need is to peak in the fourth quarter, because that’s when Nick Saban’s teams tend to be at their best.

“Everybody notices size and strength and physicality,” Kelly said, “but what really stood out to me (in the SEC title game) was they were going to exert their will. It didn’t matter that they were down; they were going to run the football. They were going to go with their strength.”

The Irish are some mentally tough customers themselves. Don’t they have to be, considering how many close games they’ve won?

Alabama closes games more demonstratively than most, though.

“I like watching teams that want to beat you mentally as well as physically,” Kelly said.

Now is the time for Kelly to sharpen his team’s will. How else are the Irish supposed to pull an Alabama on the Tide?